System and method for editing information

ABSTRACT

A system and method provides a pop up window containing a text editor to allow tags or attributes or other commands to be edited in accordance with a selected graphical object or a specified insertion point in a graphics editor.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/252,798 entitled, “Method and Apparatus for Editing Information”filed on Nov. 22, 2000 by Narciso Jaramillo, Ken Eckey and Jaime Austin,and that application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to computer software and morespecifically to computer software for graphically editing information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computers are frequently used to edit information. Two types of editorsare frequently used to edit information. A graphics editor displaysgraphical objects and text and allows an author to edit the graphicalinformation using a graphical user interface to indicate the desiredeffect of any change. By contrast, a text editor displays text, and anauthor may edit the text using text based commands. However, if text isused as source code for graphics, it can be desirable to use a graphicseditor and a text editor.

Some application programs, such as the conventional Dreamweaver 2program formerly commercially available from Macromedia Corporation ofSan Francisco, Calif. allow authors to edit graphical source code forone or more web pages using both a graphics editor and a text editorthat are linked to one another.

The conventional Dreamweaver application program provides each editorusing two separate windows that can be displayed simultaneously: agraphics window containing the graphics editor and a code windowcontaining the code editor. The author may click on an object in thegraphics window, and graphically manipulate it, for example, by movingit, or manipulate it using a graphical user interface including menusand dialog boxes to change attributes for the object. The author mayalso add new objects into the graphics window using the graphics editor.If the author desires, the author may move the mouse cursor to the codewindow, where the source code for the web page is displayed, anddirectly adjust the source code for the web page using a text editor.Such an arrangement allows an author to use the more intuitive graphicalwindow and see results of edits instantly, while retaining the power andflexibility to adjust the code directly. As an author makes changes tothe graphics window, the code window is automatically updated and viceversa.

While the dual window approach is superior to requiring an author tochoose between graphically manipulating the web page or text editing thecode and then using only one type of editor, it suffers from severaldrawbacks. First, to make the code and graphics windows sufficientlylarge enough to display enough information at one time, the windows mayoverlap each other on the author's display screen. Although parts ofboth windows may always be visible, the author may only be able to viewone or the other window in its entirety. If the portion of the codewindow that corresponds to the graphics window currently being edited ishidden behind the graphics window, the author must move one or bothwindows to allow the author to view the portion of the code windowcorresponding to the portion of the graphics window being edited. Thus,the convenience of the approach can seem less than ideal.

Second, authors may find it cumbersome to move between the windows. Toedit the source code for an object in the code window, the author mustmove the mouse over the code window and click into it. Furthermore, ifthe author wishes to edit the code in the code window for an object thatis not yet selected in that window, the author must either select it inthe graphics window (in which case the corresponding code is scrolledinto the code window if it was not visible) and then move to the codewindow, or the author must locate the code in the code window and clickthe mouse cursor over it. Either approach is cumbersome.

Third, although the author is allowed to insert code directly into thecode window, little help is provided to the author to instruct theauthor what tags or attributes would be proper at the location of thecursor.

What is needed is a method and system that can allow information to beedited both graphically and textually, provides a more intuitiveapproach than other methods, can help prevent errors in the code, andcan assist an author with selecting proper code.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A system and method allows an author to command the system and method todisplay a text editor in a window near one or more objects selectedusing a graphics editor or an insertion point in a graphics editor andadd, delete or alter a small amount of the source code corresponding tothe objects selected or near the insertion point. The system and methodoperates in different modes of operation depending on the number andtype of object or objects selected, though an author can select adifferent mode of operation. The system and method provides hints to theauthor if the author leaves the text editor unchanged for a period oftime. The author can adjust the source code being edited.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of a conventional computer system.

FIG. 2A is a block schematic diagram of a system for allowing an authorto edit information according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2B is a block schematic diagram of a tag initial text/labelselector of FIG. 2A according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C are a flow chart illustrating a method of editinginformation according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of attempting to commitchanges according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be implemented as computer software on aconventional computer system. Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventionalcomputer system 150 for practicing the present invention is shown.Processor 160 retrieves and executes software instructions stored instorage 162 such as memory, which may be Random Access Memory (RAM) andmay control other components to perform the present invention. Storage162 may be used to store program instructions or data or both. Storage164, such as a computer disk drive or other nonvolatile storage, mayprovide storage of data or program instructions. In one embodiment,storage 164 provides longer term storage of instructions and data, withstorage 162 providing storage for data or instructions that may only berequired for a shorter time than that of storage 164. Input device 166such as a computer keyboard or mouse or both allows author input to thesystem 150. Output 168, such as a display or printer, allows the systemto provide information such as instructions, data or other informationto the author of the system 150. Storage input device 170 such as aconventional floppy disk drive or CD-ROM drive accepts via input 172computer program products 174 such as a conventional floppy disk orCD-ROM or other nonvolatile storage media that may be used to transportcomputer instructions or data to the system 150. Computer programproduct 174 has encoded thereon computer readable program code devices176, such as magnetic charges in the case of a floppy disk or opticalencodings in the case of a CD-ROM which are encoded as programinstructions, data or both to configure the computer system 150 tooperate as described below.

In one embodiment, each computer system 150 is a conventional SunMicrosystems Ultra 10 workstation running the Solaris operating systemcommercially available from Sun Microsystems of Mountain View, Calif., aPentium-compatible personal computer system such as are available fromDell Computer Corporation of Round Rock, Tex. running a version of theWindows operating system (such as 95, 98, Me, XP, NT or 2000)commercially available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond Wash. or aMacintosh computer system running the MacOS or OpenStep operating systemcommercially available from Apple Computer Corporation of Cupertino,Calif. and the Netscape browser commercially available from NetscapeComputer Corporation of Mountain View, Calif. although other systems maybe used.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a system 200 for editing information is shownaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. Although theinformation described below is the source code for a web page, any typeof information may be edited by the present invention. The informationmay be a portion or all of a file or any other collection ofinformation. In one embodiment the system and method may be included aspart of a web development computer application program, such as theconventional Dreamweaver product commercially available from Macromediaof San Francisco, Calif., or the conventional GoLive productcommercially available from Adobe, Inc., of San Jose, Calif. Dreamweaveris described in Towers, Dreamweaver for Windows and Macintosh (PeachpitPress 2000, ISBN 0-201-70240-1), and GoLive is described in Carlson &Fleishman, Real World Adobe GoLive 4 (Peachpit Press 2000, ISBN0-201-35474-8) and both of these books are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

In one embodiment, all author input for system 200 is received byoperating system 250 via a conventional user input device such askeyboard/mouse 258 which may be any conventional keyboard and mouse.User output is provided to display 252 which may be any conventionaldisplay such as a conventional computer monitor, via operating system250.

File manager 220 receives from an author one or more commands to open ormake a new file. The one or more commands may include a file name orother identifier of the file, which file manager 220 internally stores.If the one or more commands include one or more commands to open a file,file manager 220 opens the file from local storage 254, which may be anyform of conventional storage such as memory or disk storage, (and neednot be local, but may reside on a server anywhere) via operating system250. If the one or more commands include one or more commands to createa new file, file manager 220 creates the file and stores the file infile information storage 226.

In one embodiment, the file opened by file manager contains the sourcecode for graphical information such as a web page, and may include HTMLtags. When the file is opened, file manager 220 stores the file in fileinformation storage 226 using a hierarchical arrangement, such as a treestructure, as will now be described.

HTML is a tagged coding language and is described by Castro, HTML 4 forthe world wide web (1998 Peachpit Press, ISBN 0-201-69696-7). Tags areused as commands to control formatting, cause the display of otherfiles, create links to other files and control the operation of otherfunctions. Some commands are represented by a start tag, but no end tag.Such tags include “IMG” tags. Other commands are represented by a starttag and an end tag, frequently to control the appearance of an elementof the web page between the start and end tags. For example, the starttag, “<b>” turns on a bold function, and the start tag, “<i>” turns onan italics function. The end tag, “</b>” turns off the bold function andthe end tag, “</i>” turns off the italics function. Text between thestart tag and a corresponding end tag will be displayed by a browseraccording to the function of the tag. Thus, the code for a web pageincludes both tags and text, with some of the tags being able to controlthe display of the text. Although HTML tags are described herein, thepresent invention may be used with any type of commands; or any type ofcommands that format or describe text, commands that arrange, format,describe or otherwise relate to graphics or any of these types ofcommands.

Some tags or other types of commands are used to delineate sections ofthe file containing the source code. For example, HTML documents containa header section having start and end tags of “<head>” and “</head>”respectively, and a body section having start and end tags of “<body>”and “</body>”, respectively. Some tags allow one or more attributes tobe specified, some of which may be optional. For example, to set thebackground color of a web page, the bgcolor attribute may be specifiedin the body tag with a value set to a code for the color in betweendouble quotes. Thus, the body may be started with <bodybgcolor=“FFFFFF”>and ended with </body>.

The tags and text in the source code for a web page may be nested amongtags. For example, a complete body may be“<body><b><i>Hello</i></b>World</body>”. The nesting of tags provides alogical hierarchy. In the example body above, the hierarchy wouldinclude the body tag as a parent, the bold tag descending therefrom, theitalics tag descending from the bold tag and the “Hello” text descendingfrom the italics tag. The “World” text descends from the body tag. Thus,the above body may be arranged into a hierarchy represented by:

body

-   -   bold        -   italics            -   “Hello”.    -   “World”

As described briefly above, file manager 220 opens the file or creates anew file according to commands received from the author. To open thefile, if the file is an HTML file, file manager 220 parses the code andtext in the file and builds in file information storage 226 objectshaving a hierarchy corresponding to the nested command and text in thefile as described above. Each object in the hierarchy corresponds to adifferent start tag in the source code or to text in the source code. Inone embodiment, all objects descend from a page object that does notcorrespond to a part of the HTML file. The HTML portion of the pagedescends from an HTML object. Thus, using the example above, a bodyobject would descend from an HTML object, which would descend from thepage object. Descending from the body object would first be a boldobject and next would be a text object containing “World”. Descendingfrom the bold object would be an italics object and descending from theitalics object would be a text object with the text “Hello”.

Each object contains or implies a begin tag, any attribute names andvalues specified, and for tags that use them, an end tag, or the objectcontains text. Thus, the body object would contain or imply a “<body>”tag, a “</body>” tag, and if the “bgcolor=“FFFFFF”” attribute and valuehad been specified, the body object would contain that attribute andvalue in addition to any others that may have been specified in thefile. Objects may have other attributes used internally by the system asdescribed below and such attributes may be initialized by file manager220. File manager 220 sets up links between objects in the hierarchy,linking objects to objects descending from that object, and setting theorder of the links to match the order in which the objects were arrangedin the HTML file. In one embodiment, links are also provided from anobject to its parent by file manager 220. Thus, file information storage226 is arranged as a tree of objects. All of this information is storedin file information storage 226.

In one embodiment, file manager may open files that contain the objectsarranged in the hierarchy instead of text arranged as an HTML file. Theobjects may include the internally used attributes of the objects andmay include preference information and other information stored outsideof the hierarchical arrangement of objects. This type of file allows thepreservation of information that will not be part of the HTML file, suchas preferences and internally-used attributes. In such case, filemanager 220 copies the file from local storage 254 into file informationstorage 226. It is not necessary that file manager open any particulartype of file, and thus file manager can open any number of types offiles in any number of formats, even only one format such as HTML.

In one embodiment, as file manager 220 either copies or builds the treeof objects as described above, file manager 220 assigns a uniqueidentifier to each object and stores the identifier as part of theobject. If objects are added using any of the editors described below,the editor also assigns a unique identifier to the object and stores theidentifier as part of the object. This allows reference to an object tobe made using its identifier, although other techniques for referencingan object such as a set of handles to each object, may be used in otherembodiments of the present invention.

If the author uses file manager 220 to open a new file, file manager 220builds an initial hierarchy containing a page object, and two objectsdescending from the page object: a head object and a body object. Abgcolor attribute of the body object may be specified with a value of“FFFFFF” by file manager 220 to initialize the background color of theweb page.

Once the file has been opened as described above, file manager 220signals graphics editor 232 and code editor 230 to display the objectsin file information storage 226. The author may then edit the objects infile information storage as described in more detail below and then savethe file onto local storage 254.

An author may save the file in either the hierarchical object format orHTML format by requesting file manager 220 to store the file and eitherusing the format of the file that was opened, if any, or specifying adifferent format. File manager 220 signals file builder 224. If the fileis to be stored as a file containing objects, file builder 224 copiesthe information in file information storage 226 into the file in localstorage 254 via operating system 250. If the file is to be stored as anHTML file, file builder 224 builds the file in local storage 254 byselecting the highest object in the hierarchy (the page object)selecting the first ordered link descending from the selected object,writing into local storage 254 the start tag and any attributes, or thetext, from the object, then selecting the first unselected descendantobject from the selected object and repeating the process until nounselected object descends from the selected object. At that point, filebuilder 224 writes into local storage 254 the end tag of the most recentselected object if any, and selects the parent object of the object andrepeats the process described above until the tags and textcorresponding to all of the objects have been written.

Before saving the file, file builder 224 may prompt the author for thefilename of the file if the file was a new file or the author requestsfile manager 220 to save the file using a “save as” command.

When signaled by file manager 220, graphics editor 232 requestsoperating system 250 to open a graphics window in a portion of thedisplay screen and renders the objects in object storage in a graphicswindow on a display 252 via operating system 250. Graphics editor 232renders the objects in the tree of objects in file information storage226 in the graphics window in a manner similar to the way a browserwould render the HTML code corresponding to the objects in the tree. Inone embodiment, as graphics editor 232 renders each object in fileinformation storage 226, graphics editor 232 stores into the object infile information storage 226 an XY coordinate position the upper lefthand corner of an imaginary box that surrounds the object on thedisplay, and the X and Y dimensions of the box or the XY coordinates ofthe lower right hand corner of the imaginary box. The X and Ycoordinates are measured from the upper left hand corner of the windowcontaining the editor from which the objects are graphically representedby, and selected using, graphics editor 232. The imaginary box is a boxthat completely encloses the object when displayed on the display screenand may be the smallest such box or one that is nearly as small, subjectto the limitation that all imaginary boxes displayed on a single row inthe graphics window have a height equal to the tallest box in the row.Blank lines such as would be found at the second “<p>” in the sequence,“<p><p><p>” have an imaginary box with a zero width.

The coordinates of each imaginary box are compared with the coordinatesof the mouse pointer when an author clicks the mouse to allow graphicseditor 232 to identify the object an author wishes to select if theauthor clicks the mouse within the boundaries of the imaginary box. Ifthe author clicks within an imaginary box of an object, the object isconsidered selected and graphics editor 232 highlights the object, suchas by drawing a box around it with sizing blocks at the corners andmiddle of each line in the drawn box. Multiple objects may be selectedby shift clicking several objects, and a selected object may beunselected by clicking it again, although in one embodiment, all objectsselected must be contiguous in the order in which they appear in theHTML code, and selecting two objects will cause graphics editor 220 toselect the contiguous objects between them as well. Multiple objects mayalso be selected, and therefore highlighted by using graphics editor 220to draw an outline of a box around such objects by dragging the mouse.Graphics editor 232 compares the objects having their upper left handcorners (or their entire imaginary box) inside the outline and selectsthose that do. If the author clicks the mouse on an area of the displayscreen that is not inside of any imaginary box or near the edge of animaginary box, an insertion point cursor is moved to correspond to themouse cursor. The insertion point cursor is moved to the right of theimaginary box of the rightmost object having an imaginary box to theleft of the mouse cursor, or if no such object exists, to the left ofthe imaginary box of the leftmost object having an imaginary box to theright of the mouse cursor. If the author clicks the mouse below all ofthe imaginary boxes, the insertion point cursor may be placedimmediately below the left hand side of the lowest imaginary box thathas a left side that is against the left margin.

When signaled by file manager 220, code editor 230 requests operatingsystem 250 to open a code window on the display 252. Code editor 230then traverses the nodes in the tree of objects in file informationstorage 226 in the same manner described above with respect to filebuilder 224 to build a set of code objects corresponding to the code,including the text, or the tags and attributes, of each object in thetree stored in file information storage 226, and displays the codeobjects in the code window. In one embodiment, each code object containsa link to, or identifier of, the object in file information storage 226from which it was generated. Thus, the code objects displayed in thecode window by code editor 230 illustrate the source code for the webpage in the window or other area displayed by graphics editor 232. Thus,if the file opened by file manager 220 was an HTML file, the codeobjects displayed in the code window by code editor 230 will be the HTMLsource code for the objects displayed by graphics editor 232.

The author may then make a change to either the graphical representationof the web page provided by graphics editor 232 using a graphical userinterface or the text representation of the source code of the web pageprovided by code editor 230 using a text-based editor. The graphicaluser interface may include dialog boxes, palettes, shortcuts, menus andthe like provided by graphics editor 232. The text-based editor providedby code editor 230 includes menus and shortcuts provided by code editor230. Some menus are shared by both editors 230, 232 and may be operatedby whichever editor 230 or 232 has the focus at the time the menu isoperated.

Each time a change is made via one of the editors 230, 232, that editor230, 232 makes the corresponding adjustments to the objects stored infile information storage 226. This may be performed by the editor inwhich the author is working deleting one or more objects, altering oneor more objects or adding a new one or more objects to file informationstorage 232 corresponding to the author's actions in the editor. Eitherat the time an object is added, deleted or modified using graphicseditor 232 or at the time the code editor 230 loses focus, that editor230, 232 signals the other editor 230 or 232 to update its objects usingthe objects in file information storage 226, and such other editor 230,232 updates the objects in its window.

As described above, the author may use shortcut commands which are oneor more keypresses used to provide a command to an application program.One such command is a command requesting a pop up text editor windowcorresponding to a selection made, or an insertion point specified, inthe graphics window that allows the author to add, modify or deletecertain objects in file information storage 226, where any object added,deleted or modified is based on the object or objects selected, or theinsertion point specified, in the graphics window, and the location ofany object added is based on an insertion point or on object selected inthe graphics window. This pop up window is referred to herein as a tageditor.

The tag editor differs from the text editor provided by code editor 230in that the code editor displays and allows the author to edit more thanone tag or text from a fixed location on the screen. The tag editor,described more completely below, allows the author to edit a smallnumber of tags, such as 1 tag, and appears at a location near thegraphical display of object being modified, or an insertion point, inthe graphics window instead of remaining at a fixed location like thecode window. In one embodiment, the tag editor also differs from thetext editor provided by code editor 230 in that it does not persist, butrather, disappears when the author has completed performing the editingof a certain region in the graphics window. If the author desires toedit a different region not adjacent to the original region using thetag editor, the tag editor is exited, the new region is defined usingthe graphics editor and the tag editor may be called again to edit thedifferent region. In one embodiment, the graphics editor, code editorand tag editor are displayed simultaneously by system 200.

In one embodiment, the shortcut for such command is “control-T” on amachine using the Windows operating system and “command-T” on a systemusing a Macintosh operating system although other shortcuts can be used.Other means of initiating an action such as menu selections (describedmore completely below) and the like may also be used. If the authorprovides such a shortcut or otherwise indicates a request to initiatethe tag editor while graphics editor 232 has the focus, graphics editor232 signals tag editor manager 238 and provides a block of information,referred to herein as the selection block, to tag editor manager 238.The block of information includes a list of the identifiers of theobjects that have been completely selected excluding the first and lastobject selected, and, a begin selection that contains an identifier ofthe first object selected and an identifier of the last object selected,even if the first and last objects are not completely selected. Anobject such as a text object is not completely selected if all of thetext within the object has not been selected.

In one embodiment, if the begin and/or end selections correspond toobjects not completely selected, the begin and/or end selections in theselection block each contain not only an identifier of an object in fileinformation storage 226, but also the number of characters from thebeginning of the text where the selection starts and ends, althoughother techniques for communicating selection points may be used.

If no object is selected, only one of the begin and end selections isused to identify the objects surrounding insertion point cursor in thegraphics editor: the begin selection is the identifier of the objectpreceding the insertion point or the end selection is an identifier ofthe object following the insertion point, but no objects will be in thelist of objects. Other methods of communicating the above-describedinformation may also be used by the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, tag editor manager 238 is shown inmore detail according to one embodiment of the present invention. Modeselector 262 receives the selection block from graphics editor 232, andstores it into selection block storage 260.

Mode selector 262 uses the selection block to identify the mode in whichthe tag initial text/label selector 238 should operate. If the selectionblock indicates the mouse cursor was on an insertion point (e.g. noobject was selected), mode selector 262 selects the “insert tag” mode.If the selection block indicates the selected objects correspond to asingle tag (e.g. a single object and text or a single object), modeselector 262 selects the “edit tag” mode. Otherwise, mode selector 262selects the mode as “wrap tag” mode or “edit tag” mode depending onwhether it determines the selection is balanced as described below. Ifthe selection is balanced, mode selector 262 selects the “wrap tag”mode. If the selection is not balanced, mode selector 262 balances theselection and selects the “edit tag” mode.

A selection is balanced if it contains, more than one object (even ifthe more than one objects are not completely selected) and theimmediately preceding parent tag of the object corresponding to thebegin selection and the object corresponding to the end selection is thesame object.

If the selection block indicates that the selection is unbalanced, thatis, the objects corresponding to the begin selection and end selectionare different and descend directly from objects that are not the sameobject, mode selector 262 alters the selection block so that theselection is balanced. To make the selection balanced, mode selectoridentifies whether changing the end selection to be the end of the wordthat corresponds to the begin selection would make the selectionbalanced. If so, mode selector 262 performs this change in the beginselection, end selection or list and stores the result in the selectionblock in selection block storage 260, then selects the “edit tag” mode.If not, mode selector 262 adjusts the selection block to include thefirst object upwards in the hierarchy from which the objectcorresponding to the beginning selection and the object corresponding tothe ending selection both descend, as well as all descendant objects ofsuch object, performs this adjustment in any of the begin selection, endselection and list, and selects the “edit tag” mode.

At any time, an author may force a change in the mode selected by modeselector 262 using a shortcut. In one embodiment, this shortcut is thesame shortcut that activated tag initial text/label selector asdescribed above, although another shortcut may be used. If, while thetag editor window provided by tag initial text/label selector 238 or thegraphics window provided by graphics editor 232 has focus, the shortcutis received, mode selector 262 receives the indication that the shortcuthas been used, retrieves the selection block from selection blockstorage 260 and changes the mode to a mode based on what the mode was atthe time the shortcut was pressed. If the mode is “edit tag” mode, modeselector 262 selects a new mode of “wrap tag”. If the mode is “wraptag”, mode selector 262 selects a new mode of “insert tag”. If the modewas “insert tag”, mode selector 262 selects a new mode of “edit tag”.

When mode selector completes selecting the mode, mode selector 262stores the mode it identifies into the selection block in selectionblock storage 260 and signals initial text/label selector 264.

When signaled, initial text/label selector 264 uses the selection blockin selection block storage 260 to build a label and initial text thatwill be displayed in a text box when the tag editor is displayed usingthe mode selected by mode selector 262. The label corresponds to themode in the selection block. If the mode is “insert tag”, initialtext/label selector 264 builds a label “Insert tag:”. If the mode iswrap tag, initial text/label selector 264 builds a label “Wrap tag:” Ifthe mode is “edit mode”, initial text/label selector builds a label“Edit tag:”.

The initial tag text that the author will be allowed to edit is alsodetermined by initial text/label selector 264. If the mode is “inserttag” or “wrap tag”, initial text/label selector 264 identifies a blankinitial tag text or initial tag text reading “< >”.

If the mode is “edit tag”, initial text/label selector 264 checks to seeif the list of objects in the selection block contains one or moreobjects corresponding to code having a single tag. If so, the initialtext/label selector 264 identifies initial text by building the sourcecode for the object or objects in the selection block, including thattag, including any attributes. If not, initial text/label selector 264identifies as the initial text the source code for the tag of thenearest parent object that is the parent of the object corresponding tothe begin and end selection. If no object is selected, initialtext/label selector 264 identifies the initial text by building thesource code for the object preceding the mouse cursor in the graphicswindow as the initial text if the code contains a tag, and if not,initial text/label selector 264 identifies the initial text by buildingthe source code for the most immediate ancestor object of that objectwhose code has a tag is identified as the initial text by initialtext/label selector 264. In one embodiment, initial text/label selector264 identifies the initial text so that it contains not more than one,or exactly one, tag. In one embodiment, initial text/label selector 264identifies the initial text as described above without including any endtag or tags. In one embodiment, initial text/label selector 264 willonly identify as the initial text the source code contained in a begintag, omitting any source code following the begin tag.

Initial text/label selector 264 adds the label and initial text itidentifies as described above to the selection block in selection blockstorage 260 and signals editor manager 266.

When signaled, editor manager 266 uses the selections in the selectionblock in selection block storage 260 to identify a location in which atext editor can be displayed that is above the selected object orobjects indicated by the selection block. To do so, editor manager 266retrieves the XY coordinates of the objects in the window drawn managedby graphics editor 232 corresponding to the objects in the selectionblock and identifies the lowest value of X and the lowest value of Y ofall the coordinates it retrieves. If no objects were selected, the XYcoordinates of the insertion point cursor in the graphics window areused instead. Editor manager 266 then subtracts from the value of Y anumber of pixels equal to the height of the tag editor window it willdisplay and uses the result as the Y value and uses the lowest X valueas the coordinates of the upper left corner of a window in which todisplay a text editor, adjusting the Y and X values if necessary toaccommodate physical limitations of display 252. If the objects are notdisplayed in the graphics window at the time the tag editor is called orthe tag editor is otherwise prohibited from being displayed at thelocation identified by editor manager 266, editor manager identifies alocation that is as close as possible to the identified location thatdoes not overwrite any of the objects identified in the selection blockand uses that location as the location it identifies.

Editor manager 266 directs operating system 250 to open such a window ondisplay 252 and add a label from the selection block and a text boxprefilled with the initial text from the selection block.

In one embodiment, editor manager 266 places a cursor in the text box atan initial location depending on the mode in the selection block. If themode in the selection block stored in selection block storage 260 is“insert tag” or “wrap tag”, editor manager 266 places the cursor afterthe “<” character.

In one embodiment, editor manager 266 selects certain text in the textbox when the text box is displayed. For example, the left most attributevalue may be selected and the selection indicated by highlighting it ifthe mode in the selection block stored in selection block storage 260 is“edit tag”.

When editor manager 266 completes displaying the tag editor orredisplays it due to a change in mode, editor manager 266 signals hintmanager 268. At such time, the author is allowed to alter the contentsof the text box in the tag editor displayed by editor manager 266 orprovide commands to alter the selection of text in the text box, changea text cursor in the text box change the mode as described above performother commands as described below or commit the changes to fileinformation storage 226.

The author may type into the text box to alter the text containedtherein, under the control of editor manager 266. An author may use thearrow keys to move a text cursor in the text box or may use the mousecursor to click into the text box, at which point editor manager 266updates the text cursor in the text box to correspond to the location ofthe mouse cursor at the time it was clicked.

In one embodiment, editor manager 266 enforces a rule that an authorcannot add a tag to the text box if at least one tag is in the text box.This may be accomplished by ignoring or refusing to enter into the textbox a second “<” character in the text box of the tag editor and everycharacter to the right of such a character. In another embodiment, therule is enforced by commit manager 270 described below providing anindication of an error such as by displaying an error message andignoring the text in the editor at such time as the change is attemptedto be committed as described in more detail below. In one embodiment,the rule is “relaxed” in wrap tag mode or insert tag mode or both toallow an author to type an end tag, such as <b></b>

In one embodiment, hint manager 268 monitors the author's actions in thetext box and provides hints describing possible entries to be made totag names, attribute names and attribute values as will now bedescribed. When called by editor manager 266, hint manager 268 retrievesfrom operating system 250 the text box cursor position and the text fromthe text box stores them into the selection block in selection blockstorage 260 and sets an operating system timer of between 0.5 and 2.5seconds. When the timer elapses, hint manager 268 again retrieves fromoperating system 250 the text box cursor position and the text from thetext box and the prior values from the selection block. If the text boxcursor position or text box text has changed, hint manager 268 storesthe new values of the position and text into the selection block andsets another timer in operating system 250. However, if the text boxcursor position is at the same position as when the timer was set andthe text in the text box is unchanged (e.g. the text box is“unchanged”), hint manager 268 uses the location of the cursor and thetext in the text box to identify whether the cursor is at a location inthe text box at which the author would add a tag name, an attribute nameor an attribute value and if so, performs the functions described below.A tag name is added to the right of a “<” character and to the left ofany space other than a space that follows the “<” character. Anattribute name is added to the right of a space to the right of a tagname or an attribute value. An attribute value is added between doublequotations. Other rules for these locations may also be used.

If the cursor is at a location in the text box at which a tag name isadded when hint manager 268 determines the text box is unchanged, hintmanager 268 retrieves a list of valid tag names from an internal storagelocation and displays it in a menu underneath the cursor. If the authorselects one of the tag names it lists in the menu, hint manager 268copies the tag name to a location to the right of the “<” symbol in thetext box and resets the timer in operating system 250.

If the cursor is at a location in the text box at which an attributename is added when hint manager 268 determines the text box isunchanged, hint manager 268, using the text retrieved from the text box,parses the tag name, and retrieves from an internally stored set oflists of valid attribute names indexed by the tag a list of validattribute names for the tag name it parses. Hint manager 268 displaysthe list as a menu and if an author selects one of the entries in thelist, hint manager 268 copies it to the location in the text box atwhich the attribute name is added that is nearest to the cursor, addsthe text, ‘=″″’ following the attribute name, places the text box cursorin between the double quotations and resets the timer in operatingsystem 250.

If the cursor is at a location in the text box at which an attributevalue is added when hint manager 268 determines the text box isunchanged, hint manager 268, using the text retrieved from the text box,parses the attribute name that is nearest to, and to the left of, thetext cursor in the text box, and builds a list of valid attribute valuesby scanning the objects in file information storage 226 and storing theattribute value for any identical attribute from all of the objects intoa list of attribute values. Hint manager 268 displays the list ofattribute values as a menu and if an author selects one of the entriesin the list, hint manager 268 copies it to the location in the text boxat which the attribute value is added (i.e. between the double quotationat the location of the text cursor) that is nearest to the text boxcursor.

In one embodiment, when any menu is provided by hint manager 268, if theauthor types using the keyboard, hint manager 268 receives the characterpressed. If the first character pressed corresponds to a first letter ofa menu item, the first such menu item is selected by hint manager 268.If the author presses another key, the first menu item having the firsttwo letters corresponding to the two keys pressed will be selected byhint manager 268 and so on. If the author presses return while a menuitem is so selected, that menu item is inserted at the cursor positionin the text box, or if text is highlighted in the text box, that menuitem will replace the text highlighted in the text box.

In one embodiment, the period of time used to determine whether todisplay the hint is configurable by the author, by specifying the periodof time between 0.5 and 2.5 seconds to preferences manager 228, whichstores the period of time in file information storage 226. Hint manager268 reads the value from file information storage and uses it todetermine the period of time it uses for the timers it sets in operatingsystem 250.

In one embodiment, if the author presses the tab key, the nearestattribute name or value to the right of the cursor or selection in thetext box is selected and highlighted by editor manager 266. If theauthor presses the shift and tab keys, the nearest attribute name orvalue, or the tag name, to the left of the cursor or selection in thetext box is selected and highlighted by editor manager 266.

In one embodiment, an author may use a keyboard shortcut to adjust theselected objects. If the author uses the keyboard shortcut “Control-<”(i.e. the control key is held down when the “<” key is pressed), editormanager 266 adds the parent object corresponding to the tag displayed tothe objects selected in the selection block (referred to as “expandingthe selection”) and signals initial text/label selector 264. Initialtext/label selector 264 recomputes the initial tag text as describedabove and substitutes the initial text in place of the initial tag textin the selection block in selection block storage 260 and signals editormanager 266 to redisplay the tag editor as described above. If theauthor uses the keyboard shortcut “Control->” editor manager 266 removesthe parent object selected using the prior control <from the selectedobjects (referred to as “contracting the selection”) in the selectionblock in selection block storage 260 and signals initial text/labelselector 264. Initial text/label selector 264 recomputes the initial tagtext as described above and substitutes the initial text in place of theinitial tag text in the selection block in selection block storage 260and signals editor manager 266 to redisplay the tag editor as describedabove.

In one embodiment, when editor manager 266 performs the selection of theparent object in response to the shortcut described above, it incrementsa counter that is initialized to zero by initial text/label selector 264when the editor is first activated as described above. If the shortcutto remove the selected object is performed, editor manager 266 checksthe counter. If the counter is zero or the initial value, editor manager266 checks the contents of the text box. If the contents of the text boxcontains exactly one tag, initial text/label selector 264 selects theentire contents of the tag, and otherwise, ignores the command. If thecounter is greater than zero, editor manager 266 contracts the selectionas described above and decrements the counter.

In one embodiment, if an author makes a change to the text in the textbox after expanding the selection, editor manager 266 sets a flag thatit clears after each time it expands the selection. If the flag is setwhen the selection is contracted, initial text/label selector 264ignores any command to contract the selection.

In one embodiment, after the author provides the command to expand orcontract the selection, but before the selection is expanded orcontracted as described above, editor manager 266 signals commit manager270, which attempts to commit any changes as described below.

In one embodiment, changes made to a tag, or additions made, in the textbox are committed as described below under certain circumstances and newtags inserted are committed under some of those circumstances.Committing a change has the effect of recording it into file informationstorage 226.

Changes made to attributes of a tag that existed before the tag editorwas displayed made in edit mode are committed under one or more or allof the following conditions:

1. the author moves the text cursor in the text box from one attributeto another using the arrow keys.

2. the author presses the tab key.

3. The author clicks a region in the text box outside of the attributename or attribute value changed.

4. The author expands or contracts the selection.

5. The author types a space, double quote or “>” symbol at the end of anattribute value.

6. The author presses the return key or clicks outside the text box.

When such a condition occurs, editor manager 266 is notified andnotifies commit manager 270. To commit a change in edit mode, commitmanager 270 substitutes the attributes of the tag in the text box forthe attributes of the tag used to build the initial text. If the authorhas changed the tag name, commit manager 270 substitutes the new name ofthe tag for the old name. If the author has deleted the tag name and allattributes, commit manager deletes the object corresponding to the tag.

In one embodiment, the author may elect to have the conditions numbered1–5 not commit the changes using a user interface provided bypreferences manager 228. If the author indicates that the occurrence ofsuch conditions should not cause changes to be committed, preferencemanager 228 stores the preference in file information storage 226. Whencommit manager 270 is called by tag editor manager 238 to commit achange as described herein, tag editor manager 238 identifies whetherthe command that initiated the commit action is of types numbered 1–5 ortype numbered 6 of the numbered types listed above. If the type is type1–5, commit manager 270 checks the preferences before it attempts tocommit changes. If the preferences indicate that no such commit shouldtake place, commit manager does not commit the change and otherwise,commit manager commits the change.

If a tag is being added in insert mode or wrap mode, when the authorpresses the return key or clicks outside of the text box or the authorexpands or contract the selection, editor manager 266 signals commitmanager 270 to commit the changes. In the embodiment in whichpreferences control whether changes are committed, editor manager 266signals commit manager that the change is a type 6 change that should becommitted without regard to the preferences as described above.

To commit a change in wrap mode, commit manager 270 builds in fileinformation storage 226 a new object corresponding to the tag in thetext box and causes it to descend from the parent object of the selectedobjects in an order of descendant objects from such object that isimmediately prior to the first object of the selected objects thatdescends from that parent, and then adjusts the links from that parentobject to the selected objects to instead run from the new object to theselected objects. The new object contains the tag name, attribute namesand values and any end tags. If a selected object is not completelyselected as described above, and the list of objects does not includeany objects from which that object descends, commit manager 270 splitseach such object in two, leaving the object or objects corresponding tothe portion not selected to descend from its parent, and treating theobject corresponding to the portion selected as the begin or endselection as described above.

To commit a change in insert mode, commit manager 270 adds a new objectto file information storage 226 corresponding to the text in the textbox. If more than one object is in the list of selected objects in theselection block, commit manager 270 adds the new object descending fromthe lowest object in the hierarchy of objects in file informationstorage 226 from which all of the objects in the list of selectedobjects descend, in an order immediately in front of the first objectthat descends directly from that parent object. The new object containsthe tag name, attribute names and values and any end tags. If the beginand end selections are not completely selected, correspond to a graphicseditor insertion point in a text object and only one object is in thelist of selected objects in the selection block, commit manager 270splits in two the object corresponding to the begin and end selectionsat such corresponding graphics editor insertion point, descending themfrom their original parent and adds the new object descending from theirparent in between the two objects that it splits.

In one embodiment, commit manager 270 first parses the text in the textbox and will not commit changes under certain circumstances, such as ifmore than one tag is specified in the text box as described above. Inanother embodiment, commit manager 270 parses the text in the text boxto ensure that it represents only one valid tag according toconventional HTML syntax rules. If the text in the text box does notrepresent exactly one valid tag, commit manager 270 displays an errormessage and does not commit the change.

In one embodiment, commit manager 270 will attempt to fix certaindeficiencies in the text box it finds, and if the deficiency ordeficiencies can be fixed, it fixes them in the text it receives fromthe text box and commits the fixed text as described above. Suchdeficiencies may include a missing “<” or “>”, a missing end tag, amissing right quoted before the “>” and other errors where the intent ofthe author may be ascertained.

In one embodiment, an author may exit the tag editor using at least twocommands. Pressing the return key causes editor manager 266 to signalcommit manager 270 to commit any changes or additions as describedherein. Commit manager 270 commits the change or addition if possible asdescribed above and signals editor manager 266 that it has committed thechange or addition. Editor manager 266 then instructs operating system250 to destroy the window containing the tag editor and release thememory allocated to it.

Another command that may be used to exit the tag editor is the escapekey. If the author presses the escape key, editor manager 266 instructsoperating system 250 to destroy the window containing the tag editor.Any uncommitted changes are thus not committed if the author presses theescape key.

In one embodiment, graphics editor 232 may be used to receive menucommands from the author via keyboard/mouse 258 and operating system250. Such commands may be used to start the tag editor instead of theshortcuts described above. In one embodiment, when the author pulls downa menu item that may be used to start the tag editor, graphics editor232 builds a selection block and passes it to an internally accessiblemode selector similar to mode selector 262 which selects the mode modeselector 262 would select and returns the mode to graphics editor 232.Graphics editor 232 uses the mode to display a menu item correspondingto valid modes of the selection block. For example, if the author hasnot selected an object, one of the menu items built by graphics editor232 would be “insert tag”. If one or more objects that correspond toexactly one tag are selected, one of the menu items built by graphicseditor would be “edit tag”. The other rules described above may be usedby graphics editor to select menu items. If the menu item is selected,graphics editor 232 passes the selection block to tag editor manager 238as described above.

In one embodiment, various of the menu items are displayed correspondingto not only the mode corresponding to the selection block but also someor all of the modes that may be switched from that mode by the author:for example, as if the author had initiated the tag editor and thenswitched modes as described above. Graphics editor 232 adds to theselection block it provides the mode that corresponds to the menu itemselected. When mode selector 262 receives the selection block with themode filled in according to the menu item selected, it does not selectthe mode and instead passes the selection block to initial text/labelselector 264 for use as described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C a method of allowing an author toedit source code for content is shown according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. A command to open a file (and the filename) or starta new file is received 310 as described above. The file is opened and adata structure of hierarchical objects is built, either by copying itfrom the file or building it from the source code in the file, or thedata structure for a new file is built and initialized as describedabove 312. Graphical representations of the source code are built anddisplayed 314 as described above. Text representations of the sourcecode are built and displayed 316 as described above. A selectionindicating some or all of one or more objects is optionally received ora command to place an insertion point corresponding to a mouse cursorclick is optionally received 318, either in the graphical displayproduced in step 314 or the text display produced in step 316.

A command is received 320. If the command is a command to alter thegraphical display 322, said command either being received graphically orvia a command such as a menu, palette, shortcut or other command, thegraphical display of objects is updated 324 according to the commandreceived, one or more objects are added, deleted or the tag name orattributes of the object or objects corresponding to the command areupdated 326, and the code for the object or objects corresponding to thecommand are updated 328 as described above, and the method continues atstep 320.

If the command is a command to alter the text display 322, said commandeither being received via a text editor or via a command such as a menu,shortcut or other command, the text display of objects is updated 330according to the command received, one or more objects are added,deleted or the tag name or attributes of the object or objectscorresponding to the command are updated 332, and the displayed graphicscorresponding to the object or objects are updated 334 as describedabove, and the method continues at step 320.

If the command is a command to invoke a tag editor 322 as describedabove, a mode, label and initial text are identified from one or moreselected objects or an insertion point received in step 318 as describedabove 340. A location of an editor window is identified 342 using anyselected objects or a cursor position as described above. A tag editortext window is displayed 344 at the location identified in step 342using the label and initial text identified in step 340. A cursor may beplaced and text may be selected within the tag editor window 346 asdescribed above. In one embodiment, step 346 includes initializing acounter to zero or another initial value as described above.

A command is received 348. The command may be an explicit command suchas a keypress or it may be implicit, such as leaving a text box cursorin the tag window over a tag name, attribute name or between doublequotes around an attribute value for at least a small period of time asdescribed above.

If the command is a command to display a hint 350 as described above,the cursor position and text box text are retrieved and used to displaythe hints as described above 352 and the method continues at step 348.Step 350 may be determined according to an author's preference asdescribed above.

If the command is a command to alter the text or change the location ofa text cursor in the tag editor window 354, the method continues at step356 and otherwise 354, the method continues at step 368. At step 356, ifany text as altered is acceptable, the text may be saved in the text boxand the text box is marked as altered 358 as described above. If anysuch alteration or change of location of the text cursor implies acommit (e.g. because it is a quotation mark, space or “>”) 360, anattempt is made to commit 362 the changes made to the text box asdescribed above and below with respect to FIG. 4 and the methodcontinues at step 348. Otherwise 356, a warning may be given, thealterations may be ignored or undone or any number of these may beperformed 364 as described above and the method continues at step 348.

Referring momentarily to FIG. 4, a method of performing an attempt tocommit changes is shown according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. A type of the change is received 410 as described above. Ifthe type corresponds to a type that is committed based on thepreferences of the user as described above 412, the method continues atstep 414 and otherwise, the method continues at step 420. At step 414,the preferences are checked and if types 1–6 in the numbered list oftypes described above are to be committed 416, the method continues atstep 420, and otherwise, the method of FIG. 4 terminates 432. After step432, the method will continue at the point in FIG. 3 at which theattempt to commit was performed. The method of FIGS. 3A–3C does notterminate at step 432.

At step 420, text is received from a text box and optionally parsed. Ifthe text in the text box is acceptable (e.g. it does not contain morethan one tag and contains no fixable errors) 422, the method continuesat step 424 and otherwise 422, the method continues at step 430. At step424 if the unacceptable text is fixable as described above 424 (e.g.missing a “>”, a “<” and “>” or missing a closing double quotes), thetext retrieved is fixed as described above 428 and the method continuesat step 430. At step 430, the text from the text box, with any fixesapplied, is stored with the remainder of the information as describedabove and the method continues at step 432. If the text is not fixable424, the command may be ignored and/or a warning may be provided 426 andthe method may continue at step 432 in one embodiment and in anotherembodiment, the method continues at step 348 of FIG. 3B as indicated bythe dashed line in the Figure. In one embodiment, steps 410–432 are onlyperformed if the text in the text box is marked as altered.

Referring again to FIGS. 3A–3B, at step 368, if the command received instep 348 is a command to change the mode, an attempt is made to commitany changes as described above (including the steps of FIG. 4) the modeis changed and the initial text and label are changed and displayed 370as described above and the method continues at step 348, and otherwise368, the method continues at step 372.

At step 372, if the command received at step 348 is a tab or shift-tabcommand, an attempt is made to commit any changes as described above(including the steps of FIG. 4), and the “next” (e.g. one to the rightif the command is tab and one to the left if the command is shift-tab)attribute or value displayed in the tag editor text box is located 374and selected and highlighted 376 as described above and the methodcontinues at step 348, and otherwise 368, the method continues at step378.

At step 378, if the command received in step 348 was a command to expandthe selection, an attempt is made to commit any changes as describedabove (including the steps of FIG. 4), the parent object of the objectsselected is selected, the code corresponding to the selected objects isdisplayed, a counter is incremented or otherwise adjusted 380 and themethod continues at step 348, and otherwise 378, the method continues atstep 382.

At step 382, if the command received in step 348 was a command tocontract the selection, if the text in the text box is marked as altered384 as described above with respect to step 354, the method continues atstep 348 in one embodiment. That is, the command is ignored, although inother embodiments (not shown in the Figure), a warning message isdisplayed and then the method continues at step 348 or 356. In anotherembodiment, if the text in the text box is marked as altered 384, themethod continues at step 390 as indicated by the dashed lines in theFigure. If the text is not marked as altered 384, if the counter doesnot contain its initialized value 386, an attempt is made to commit anychanges as described above (including the steps of FIG. 4), the highestlevel object in the selected objects, if any, is unselected, the codecorresponding to the selected objects is redisplayed, the counter isadjusted in a manner opposite the adjustment of step 380 (for example,by decrementing it) 388 and the method continues at step 348. If thecounter contains its initialized value 386, if the displayed textcontains exactly one tag 390, the tag is selected 392 and the methodcontinues at step 348, and otherwise 390 the command is ignored andoptionally, an error or warning message is displayed 394 and the methodcontinues at step 348(or step 356 in another embodiment, or step 348 ifpreferences are set to not commit on such a condition or step 356 ifpreferences are set to commit on such a condition as described above).

If the command received in step 348 is a command to commit anyalterations 396 and exit the tag editor, an attempt is made to commitany changes 398 as described above (including the steps of FIG. 4) andthe method continues at step 399 and otherwise 396, the command is acommand to exit the tag editor without committing any changes and so themethod continues at step 399. At step 399, the tag editor window isdestroyed, removing it from display, and the method continues at step320.

If the command received in step 320 is a command to set preferences 322,preferences are received from the author and stored 366 and the methodcontinues at step 320. Such preferences may include the amount of timethe cursor is held before hints are provided or whether to commitchanges under certain conditions as described above.

If the command received in step 320 is a command to save the file 322,the file is saved 304 using either of the formats described above andthe method continues at step 320.

If the command received in step 320 is a command to exit 322, windowsare destroyed and memory is released 306 and the method terminates 308.

1. A method of editing a set of information comprising a plurality ofobjects, the method comprising: receiving a first set of at least onecommand in a graphical editor, said graphical editor allowing theinformation in the set to be edited by graphical manipulation ofgraphical representations of the plurality of the objects; identifyingan initial text responsive to the set of information and the indicationof the at least one command; and displaying, responsive to the initialtext identified, at a location on a display screen, a text-based editorfor editing a portion of the information, the portion and the locationresponsive to at least the first set of at least one command.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 additionally comprising: receiving from an author atleast one text alteration via the text-based editor, and altering theinformation responsive to the receipt of the at least one textalteration and the first set of at least one command.
 3. The method ofclaim 2: additionally comprising receiving a second set of at least onecommand after at least a portion of the first set of at least onecommand is received; and wherein the altering step is responsive to thesecond set of at least one command.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein thefirst set of at least one command comprises a selection of at least oneof the plurality of objects.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein thelocation is responsive to a location of the at least one objectselected.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of at least onecommand comprises an indication of a location of an insertion point. 7.The method of claim 6 wherein the displaying step comprises displayingthe text-based editor responsive to the location of the insertion point.8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least a plurality of the pluralityof objects each comprise a command, and the text based editor allows atleast one selected from an addition and an alteration of not more thanone of said commands at one time and an addition of not more than oneadditional command at a time.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein saidcommands each comprise not more than one begin tag and the additionalcommand comprises not more than one additional begin tag.
 10. The methodof claim 1 additionally comprising displaying at a second location of adisplay screen an additional text based editor for editing at least asecond portion of the information, at least one selected from the secondportion and the second location unresponsive to at least the first setof at least one command.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein theinformation comprises source code.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein thesource code comprises source code for a web page.
 13. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the source code comprises source code for graphicalinformation.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the text-based editoroperates in one of a plurality of modes of operation responsive at leastto the first set of at least one command.
 15. The method of claim 14:additionally comprising identifying a label responsive to the indicationof the at least one command; wherein the displaying step is responsiveto the initial text identified; and wherein the label identifies the oneof the plurality of modes of operation of the text-based editor.
 16. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the displaying step comprises: identifying atleast one label responsive to the first set of at least one command; anddisplaying the at least one label identified.
 17. The method of claim 1:wherein the text-based editor accepts at least one word from a pluralityof possible words; and the method additionally comprising displaying theplurality of possible words.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein thedisplaying the plurality of possible words is responsive to a locationof a cursor in the text editor.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein: theplurality of possible words comprises at least one value of anattribute; and the displaying the plurality of possible words step isresponsive to at least one value of each of at least one correspondingattribute in the set of information.
 20. The method of claim 1 wherein;the text-based editor is additionally for receiving a command indicatinga request to select a subset of text in the text-based editor; and themethod additionally comprising selecting the subset of text responsiveto said command.
 21. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising:checking a syntax of the text; and altering the text responsive to thechecking step.
 22. A system for editing a set of information comprisinga plurality of objects, the system comprising: a graphics editor havinga first input for receiving a first set of at least one command, and asecond input for receiving the set of information, the graphics editorfor allowing the information in the set to be edited by graphicalmanipulation received at the graphics editor first input of graphicalrepresentations of the plurality of the objects provided at a graphicseditor first output, said graphics editor additionally for providing anindication of the at least one command in the first set at a graphicseditor second output; an editor manager having a first input coupled tothe graphics editor second output for receiving the indication, and asecond input for receiving the set of information, the editor managerfor displaying at a location of a display screen via a first output atext-based editor for editing a portion of the information, the portionand the location responsive to the first set of at least one command;and an initial text/label selector having a first input coupled to thegraphics editor second output for receiving the indication of the atleast one command, and a second input operatively coupled for receivingthe set of information, the initial text/label selector for identifyingan initial text responsive to the indication and the set of informationand providing the initial text at an output; and wherein the editormanager additionally comprises a third input coupled to the initialtext/label selector for receiving the initial text and the editormanager displays the text editor responsive to the initial text.
 23. Thesystem of claim 22 wherein: the editor manager is additionally forreceiving from an author at a third input at least one text alterationand for providing at least the text alteration at a second output; andthe system additionally comprising a commit manager having a first inputcoupled to the editor manager output for receiving the text alteration,and a second input for receiving at least a portion of the set ofinformation, the commit manager for altering via a second output the setof information responsive to the at least one text alteration and thefirst set of at least one command.
 24. The system of claim 23 whereinthe commit manager alters the set of information additionally responsiveto a second set of at least one command received at a third input afterat least a portion of the first set of at least one command is received.25. The system of claim 22 wherein the first set of at least one commandcomprises a selection of at least one of the plurality of objects. 26.The system of claim 25 wherein the location of the text-based editordisplayed by editor manager is responsive to a location of the at leastone object selected.
 27. The system of claim 22 wherein the first set ofat least one command comprises an indication of a location of aninsertion point.
 28. The system of claim 27 wherein the location of thetext-based editor displayed by editor manager is responsive to thelocation of the insertion point.
 29. The system of claim 22 wherein atleast a plurality of the plurality of objects each comprise at least onecommand and the text-based editor provided by the editor manager allowsat least one selected from an alteration of not more than one of saidcommands at one time and an addition of not more than one additionalcommand at a time.
 30. The system of claim 29 wherein said commands eachcomprise not more than one begin tag and the additional commandcomprises not more than one begin tag.
 31. The system of claim 22additionally comprising a code editor for displaying an additional textbased editor at a second location of a display screen, the additionaltext based editor for editing at least a second portion of theinformation, at least one selected from the second portion and thesecond location unresponsive to at least the first set of at least onecommand.
 32. The system of claim 22 wherein the information comprisessource code.
 33. The system of claim 32 wherein the source codecomprises source code for a web page.
 34. The system of claim 33 whereinthe editor Tanager operates the text-based editor in one of a pluralityof modes of operation responsive at least to the first set of at leastone command.
 35. The system of claim 34: additionally comprising aninitial text/label selector having a first input coupled to the graphicseditor second output for receiving the indication of the at least onecommand, the initial text/label selector for identifying a labelresponsive to the indication and providing the label at an output;wherein the editor manager additionally comprises a third input coupledto the initial text/label selector for receiving the label and theeditor manager displays the text editor responsive to the label; andwherein the label identifies the one of the plurality of modes ofoperation of the text-based editor.
 36. The system of claim 32 whereinthe source code comprises source code for graphical information.
 37. Thesystem of claim 22: additionally comprising an initial text/labelselector having a first input coupled to the graphics editor secondoutput for receiving the indication of the at least one command, theinitial text/label selector for identifying a label responsive to theindication and providing the label at an output; wherein the editormanager additionally comprises a third input coupled to the initialtext/label selector for receiving the label and the editor managerdisplays the text editor responsive to the label.
 38. The system ofclaim 22: wherein editor manager additionally comprises a third inputoperatively coupled for receiving at least one word from a plurality ofpossible words; and the system additionally comprising a hint managerfor displaying at an output the plurality of possible words.
 39. Thesystem of claim 38, wherein: the text-based editor comprises a cursorhaving a location provided at a second output of the editor manager; andthe hint manager comprises a first input coupled to the editor managersecond output for receiving the location of the cursor, and the hintmanager displays the plurality of possible words responsive to thelocation of a cursor.
 40. The system of claim 38 wherein: the pluralityof possible words comprises at least one value of an attribute; and thehint manager additionally comprises a second input operatively coupledfor receiving the set of information, and the hint manager displays theplurality of possible words responsive to at least one value of each ofat least one corresponding attribute in the set of information.
 41. Thesystem of claim 22 wherein: the editor manager additionally comprises athird input for receiving a command indicating a request to select asubset of text in the text-based editor, and the editor manageradditionally for selecting the subset of text responsive to said commandreceived at the editor manager third input.
 42. The system of claim 22wherein the editor manager is additionally for checking a syntax of thetext and altering the text responsive to the editor manager identifyinga syntax error.
 43. A computer program product comprising a computeruseable medium having computer readable program code embodied thereinfor editing a set of information comprising a plurality of objects, thecomputer program product comprising computer readable program codedevices configured to cause a computer to: receive a first set of atleast one command in a graphical editor, said graphical editor allowingthe information in the set to be edited by graphical manipulation ofgraphical representations of the plurality of the objects; identify aninitial text responsive to the set of information and the indication ofthe at least one command; and display, responsive to the initial textidentified, at a location on a display screen a text-based editor forediting a portion of the information, the portion and the locationresponsive to at least the first set of at least one command.
 44. Thecomputer program product of claim 43 additionally comprising computerreadable program code devices configured to cause the computer to:receive from an author at least one text alteration via the text-basededitor; and alter the information responsive to the receipt of the atleast one text alteration and the first set of at least one command. 45.The computer program product of claim 44: additionally comprisingcomputer readable program code devices configured to cause the computerto receive a second set of at least one command after at least a portionof the first set of at least one command is received; and wherein thecomputer readable program code devices configured to cause the computerto alter are responsive to the second set of at least one command. 46.The computer program product of claim 45 wherein the first set of atleast one command comprises a selection of at least one of the pluralityof objects.
 47. The computer program product of claim 46 wherein thelocation is responsive to a location of the at least one objectselected.
 48. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein the firstset of at least one command comprises an indication of a location of aninsertion point.
 49. The computer program product of claim 48 whereinthe displaying step comprises displaying the text-based editorresponsive to the location of the insertion point.
 50. The computerprogram product of claim 43 wherein at least a plurality of theplurality of objects each comprise a command, and the text based editorallows at least one selected from an addition and an alteration of notmore than one of said commands at one time and an addition of not morethan one additional command at a time.
 51. The computer program productof claim 50 wherein said commands each comprise not more than one begintag and the additional command comprises not more than one begin tag.52. The computer program product of claim 43 additionally comprisingcomputer readable program code devices configured to cause the computerto display at a second location of a display screen an additional textbased editor for editing at least a second portion of the information,at least one selected from the second portion and the second locationunresponsive to at least the first set of at least one command.
 53. Thecomputer program product of claim 43 wherein the information comprisessource code.
 54. The computer program product of claim 53 wherein thesource code comprises source code for a web page.
 55. The computerprogram product of claim 53 wherein the source code comprises sourcecode for graphical information.
 56. The computer program product ofclaim 43 wherein the text-based editor operates in one of a plurality ofmodes of operation responsive at least to the first set of at least onecommand.
 57. The computer program product of claim 56: additionallycomprising computer readable program code devices configured to causethe computer to identify a label responsive to the indication of the atleast one command; wherein the computer readable program code devicesconfigured to cause the computer to display are responsive to theinitial text identified; and wherein the label identifies the one of theplurality of modes of operation of the text-based editor.
 58. Thecomputer program product of claim 43 wherein the computer readableprogram code devices configured to cause the computer to displaycomprise computer readable program code devices configured to cause thecomputer to: identify at least one label responsive to the first set ofat least one command; and display the at least one label identified. 59.The computer program product of claim 43: wherein the text-based editoraccepts at least one word from a plurality of possible words; and thecomputer program product additionally comprising computer readableprogram code devices configured to cause the computer to display theplurality of possible words.
 60. The computer program product of claim59 wherein the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer to display the plurality of possible words areresponsive to a location of a cursor in the text editor.
 61. Thecomputer program product of claim 59 wherein: the plurality of possiblewords comprises at least one value of an attribute; and the computerreadable program code devices configured to cause the computer todisplay the plurality of possible words step are responsive to at leastone value of each of at least one corresponding attribute in the set ofinformation.
 62. The computer program product of claim 43 wherein: thetext-based editor is additionally for receiving a command indicating arequest to select a subset of text in the text-based editor; and thecomputer program product additionally comprising computer readableprogram code devices configured to cause the computer to select thesubset of text responsive to said command.
 63. The computer programproduct of claim 43, additionally comprising computer readable programcode devices configured to cause the computer to: check a syntax of thetext; and alter the text responsive to the computer readable programcode devices configured to cause the computer to check.